Armor-piercing projectile.



1. w. P. VAN YKAMPEIN M. A. cox.

ARM OR PIERCING PROJECTILE. APPLICATION FILED Amie. m4;

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JAN WILLEM PEPPELMAN VAN KAMIPEN, 0F WATERGRAAFSMEER, NEAR AMSTERDAM,

ARMOR-IPIERCING PROJECTILE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 18, 1916 Applicationfiled August 18, 1914. Serial No. 857,405.

clare the following to be a full, clear, and

exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters orfigures ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The American Patent No. 1,094,395 relates to a projectile for hand firearms with a spindle of hardened steel resting with its point against theinner surface of the recessed projectile head.

This construction has for its purpose to exercise a repeated action whentouching goals of high resistance; the first impulse being exercised bythe circular (annular) head of the projectile, the second oneimmediately afterward by the hardened steel spindle being projectedforward with almost undiminished velocity, this spindle not sharing thereaction exercised by the goal on the projectile head so that thespindle touches the body tobe penetrated in an almost unalteredcondition. In other words; at the moment the annular projectile headsurface touches the goal, the projectile is divided by the reaction intotwo independent parts which exercise successively their impulses on thegoal. Trials have proved that this construction increases thedeteriorative division of the projectile at' the moment it touches thegoal into two or more independent parts some of which are not exposed toreaction and consequently exercise their action in immediate successionand at the same spot of the armor to be pierced in an unalor almostundiminished velocity.

The accompanying drawing represents a form of execution of the armorpiercing pro ectlle in longitudinal section. The proectile consists ofan outer projectile a, preferably of hardened crucible steel andprovided with a bore intended for containing the inner projectile b,which is also preferably made of hardened crucible steel. In order tostabilize the projectile during its trajectory it is necessary that theouter and the inner parts obtain the same rotation about theirlongitudinal axis when the shot is fired. Moreover, as. after the outerprojectile has touched the armor to be pierced the inner one should bebrought forward with undiminished or at least with almost undilninishedvelocity, the inner projectile should remain in its correct positionrelative to the outer one during the trajectory.

In order to answer these conditions the threaded bottom at of the outerprojectile is provided with projections e fitting with correspondingrecesses in the bottom of the inner projectlle, while a certainclearance 71 is provided between the outer and the inner projectiles,this clearance being increased by one or more circular grooves in in theouter and inner projectiles. This clearance is filled with a material oflow resistance, lead for example. The inner projectile is preferablyprovided with a central bore 0 intended for containing an explosivecharge and with a fuse at the bottom. The bottom of the outer projectileis provided with a threaded stop 7' in order to render the fuse easilyaccessible. The outer projectile bears at its head a wind cap 9, whichmay be made for example of steel plate or copper and fas-- tened bymeans of screws h to the outside of the outer projectile.

The effect of the armor piercing projectile when touching the armor isthe following: The low resistance of the wind cap can be neglected. Thefirst impulse is exercised by the annular head of the outerprojectile,..a certain pressure being consequently exercised on thearmor after the manner of a heavy hammer blow. The second impulse isimmediately after the first one exercised by the inner projectile whichis not infiuenced by the reaction and forced forward with undiminishedor with almost undimin- 'tered condition and with an undiminished ishedvelocity on and at the inside of the annular part of the armor plate,the latter being already exposed to a certain pressure and consequentlyin a favorable condition for being pierced. The head of the innerprojectile is of course made-with such a shape that it is most fit forpiercing, that is to say deteriorating, armors or other kinds of goalswith high resistance.

The head of the projectile shown in the drawing has the shape of a cone;this head may be developed for example to the ordinary ogival shape, orfor example to a stanlp or punch, to a crater, etc. Moreover, it ispossible to connect the outer and the inner projectiles in anothermanner, 6. g. by substituting the circular grooves by grooves havinganother, e. g. a longitudinal direction, in which case the bottom of theouter projectile may be in one piece with the cylindrical wall. Thebottom may then be provided with recesses corresponding withprojections, of the bottom of the inner projectile. It is also possibleto partially fill the empty space of the outer projectile in front ofthe inner projectile and also partially the empty space of the wind capwith any material of low resistance, lead, for example; this might bedesirable for increasing the weight of the projectile head to a maximumor in case it is thought necessary to lock up the inner projectile, orin other words, to secure it better in its position. Furthermore, theouter projectile may also be provided with an explosive charge, in whichcase it should contain an empty space.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our saidinvention and the manner in which it is to be performed we declare thatwhat we claim is:

1. In a projectile the combination of a tubular impact body having anaxial bore opening to the front end of the projectile and having also ahard blunt impact nose to impart a hammer blow to the target, togetherwith a piercing projectile fitting within said bore in the body anddetaching therefrom on impact to pierce the target at a point within thearea aifecte'd by said impact nose.

2. In a projectile the combination of a tubular impact body having anaxial bore opening to the front end of the projectile and having also ahard blunt impact nose to impart a hammer blow to the target,togetherwith a piercing projectile fitting within said more in the bodyand detaching therefrom on impact to pierce the target at a point withinthe area afi'ected' by said impact nose, said impact body and piercingprojectile being arranged to come successively into action against thetarget in the order named.

'3. In a projectile the combination of a tubular impact body having anaxial bore opening to the front end of the projectile and having also ahard bluntimpact nose to impart a hammer blow to the target, to getherwith a piercing projectile fitting within said bore in the body anddetaching therefrom on impact to pierce the target at a point within thearea affected by said impact nose, said piercing projectile beingnormally held with its piercing end at a point to the rear of the impactnose of said projectile body.

4. In a projectile the combination of a tubular impact body having ahard annular impact nose and a piercing projectile fitting within saidbore in the body and detaching therefrom on impact to pierce the targetat a point within the area affected by said impact nose, together withan explosive charge carried by said piercing projectile.

5. In a projectile the combination of a tubular impact body having ahard annular impact nose and a piercing projectile fitting within saidbore in the body and detaching therefrom on impact to pierce the targetat a point within the area afi'ected by said impact nose, said piercingprojectile having a chamber opening to' the rear end thereof to receivean explosive charge.

In. testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention, we havesigned our names in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAN WILLEM PEPPELMAN VAN KAMPEN. GELDOLPH ADRIAAN COX.

Witnesses:

W. R. ATKINSON, D. KLEYN.

